


Gotta Raise a Little Hell

by movieaddictdoctor



Category: Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim, Attempt at angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Omg they were drift compatible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-04-24 06:20:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19167547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movieaddictdoctor/pseuds/movieaddictdoctor
Summary: When the first Kaiju attacked San Francisco, Carol was there. Her small f-16 barely got the monster’s attention, but now, two years later, odds were about to tip in her favor: Jaeger Program, the collective effort of the world, needed her help.





	1. Where It All Began

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! A couple days ago I saw an amazing tumblr artwork, and as a sucker for cheesy action movies, I had to write the au. I hope you enjoy!

_“Oh god! What is that thing!” Carol heard the other pilot shout. The ‘thing’ in front of them was towering over the remains of the Golden Gate bridge, almost as tall as a six storey building._

_“I don’t know James!” Carol found herself admitting. Their f-16 fighter jets were comically small in comparison. But she was never one to let the odds of success get to her. They had orders to fire at will, and she let her weapons loose the moment they were in firing range. To say that it didn’t even make a dent was one thing, but it did get the monsters attention._

_“Go low, go low!” Carol shouted and they narrowly escaped the monsters paws._

_“This is not working!” James said after deploying another set of target locked bombs. More than a dozen fighter jets were in the air with them, but all their weapons couldn’t break the outer shell._

_“It has to have a weak spot!” Carol thought out loud. If she had learned one thing from monster movies, it was that they all had a weak spot. She tried to inspect it for an opening, something, anything… “We have to get a closer look!” She felt the adrenaline pulse through her at the thought._

_“We won’t get close enough!” James replied. Three fighter jets had already went down because they weren’t fast enough._

_“I will!” Carol was determined. In a stupidly brave moment she dove in for the monsters head. “Cover me!”_

_“Damn it, Danvers!” James shouted after her. But since she had already started, his only option was to deploy flares to get the monsters attention._

_Carol leveled the plane right in front of the head. It was looking down at first, but after James’s flairs, it looked up. Bright blue eyes opened, shocking Carol maybe for the first time since she arrived at the scene. But she didn’t waste anytime, and deployed a set of bombs._

_First time since the monster's appearance in two days, it squealed in pain. Carol grabbed a tighter hold on the controls and lifted the plane. But she was too close. A paw swung in the air hit her plane, and everything went dark._

_“Danvers, no!”_

-

“No!” Carol woke up to darkness and it took her a moment to adjust to her surroundings. A red hue from the street light was coming through the curtains, the small digital clock next to the bed revealed the time as 4.37 am. She took a couple deep breaths to calm down, to lower her heart rate to a normal rhythm. 

It was the least sleep she got in recent days, but she didn't think she could go back to sleep now. So she got up, checked on Goose, then after a short shower, left the apartment in her scrubs.

Last Kaiju attack was two months ago, but that only meant that the next one was close. And with most cities being a possible next target, they needed all hands on deck. Soldiers, engineers, mechanics, doctors, nurses… Everyone volunteered, including her.

She was a volunteer nurse in New York City Hospital, away from the physical fight, but still fighting in her own way. She didn't think it all actually meant something, they were at a gross disadvantage against the giant monsters that had come to reclaim the earth, but even at world's end she would go down doing something meaningful. And with an honorable discharge, that something no longer included fighter jets.

Carol started her shift more than two hours earlier, and the security guard greeted her with a smile. 

"Again, Susan?" The guy shook his head. "You know they're not paying you, right?"

"What would I spend it on?" Carol, Susan, walked past him with a smile. “The world is ending.”

She started checking on her patients. They were mostly sleeping, but she still looked over their files to see if anything out of the ordinary happened on the previous shift.

Even two months after the last attack, hospitals were still full. They had to deal with buildings collapsing on people, soldiers injured fighting the Kaiju, the monsters blood poisoning the food and water… The damage was endless.

"Hi, Toni." Carol dropped the files in her hands on the nurse's desk, and greeted the tired woman leaning back in her chair.

"Susan." Toni nodded as a greeting. A light flashed over the screen, indicating that a patient was requesting help. “Oh great.” Toni groaned after realizing what room it was. “It’s 317.”

“Don’t look at me.” Carol was amused. “That’s your turn.”

Toni shook her head at her luck, and took off towards the patient’s room. Carol glanced over her shoulder to see her go, then turned back. She saw movement on the corner of her eye, and slowly looked over her shoulder again. A man with a long black trench coat, and a menacing look to go with it, was watching her.

“Can I help you with something, sir?” Carol asked, the man didn’t look like he belonged there.

"Captain Danvers." the man said, taking a step towards her. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

"I think you've mistaken me with someone." Carol said and turned back to her files, though something told her he wouldn't care for her answer. 

"Carol Susan Jane Danvers. Captain in the United States Air Force." the guys said. "That's you, right?" It was stated as a question, but his tone showed he didn't really need an answer.

If the guy knew her actual, and embarrassingly long name, she wouldn't be able to convince him. She turned around in a flourish and stared at him in the eye. "What do you want?"

"As I said, talk." the guy said calmly.

"Not here." Carol glanced around the hall, and her eyes settled on the doctor's room. "Follow me." She quickly walked, and when the guy closed the door after she grabbed his lapels and slammed him on the door.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Carol asked asked, sounding as threatening as possible.

The guy had his hands up in defence, and he slowly reached for his wallet. "Nick Fury." he said. "United States Military."

After reading the name, and the rank 'Major', Carol dropped her hands, but still kept her stare. "You don't look like military."

"Neither do you." Fury replied, and walked towards the other end of the room. "I have to say, Captain." He glanced around the room. "This is not where I expected to find you."

"And why did you find me?" Carol asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Straight to the point, I like that." Fury pointed at her, then put his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to give you another chance to fight."

"If you had read my file, you'd see that I'm declared 'unfit to fly'." Carol chose to go with sarcasm. She turned back and reached for the door.

"I didn't say fly." Fury replied calmly. "Though I can guarantee you, it will feel like it."

"What do you mean?" Carol turned back, confused.

“Don’t you watch the news?” Fury started explaining. He would much prefer doing that in a more controlled environment, but Captain Danvers didn’t seem like the person that would blindly follow anyone. “Nations across the world has finally come together, to build a weapon strong enough to match the monsters attacking our world.” He grabbed his phone and let a hologram play in the air between them. “Jaeger program.”

Carol stepped towards the hologram. It sure wasn’t a plane. It looked like an exosuit, only 20 times larger.

“I need experienced test pilots.” Fury continued. “Experienced fighters. Leaders. I hope you can be one of them. Can you?”

“Yes, Sir.” Carol straightened. It was so easy to go back to acting like a soldier again.

“That’s what I like to hear.” Fury nodded, though his face stayed unreadable. “The chopper is waiting on the roof. Let’s go, we have a lot of work to do.”

"I can't just drop everything here. I have patients, I have a cat waiting for me at home..." Carol stammered.

Fury glanced at his watch. "You have half an hour. I'll be waiting for you on the roof." He walked towards the door, and stopped to say one last thing. "This is a real chance, Captain. I suggest you take it."

Carol stared after him for a moment. She never thought she would be allowed to fly again, but now, if what Fury said was true, it would feel like it. She made her choice, and left the room, determined to find out more.

-

Carol stared down through the window. A gigantic metal structure was standing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, almost 10 times larger than a standard oil rig. It was the only structure in the endless water.

“Welcome to the North Pacific Shatterdome.” Fury said after the chopper landed.

Carol grabbed her duffel bag and flung it across her shoulders, then reached for Goose’s container. She followed after Fury as he stepped on the helipad. A tall woman was waiting for them with her hands clasped behind her back.

“This is Deputy Director Maria Hill.” Fury introduced, and the woman reached a hand out. “She runs this base.”

“Carol Danvers.” Carol shook her hand with a small smile.

“Glad to have you with us. And welcome back, sir.” They walked towards the door as Maria briefed Fury on the base. “Wyvern Tango and Guardian Ace are getting their nuclear cores today. Liberty Bell finished assembly last week. We did a test run, but the neural load load is proving to be too much even for two pilots.” 

_‘Neurol load? Why do you need neurol load to pilot something?’_ Carol thought to herself, but kept her quiet.

“That’s what I was afraid of. I told R&D it was too big.” Fury shook his head. “We should try Rogers, Barnes and Wilson. Three may be able to handle it.” They stepped on the elevator.

“Already on it, Sir.” Maria replied and the elevator started going down.

“And that’s why you’re my second in command.” Fury turned back. Carol turned to see why he was looking at the dark elevator wall, then she saw it wasn’t a wall anymore, it was a window. 

A seemingly endless hangar bay came in view, with people milling around everywhere. But the most striking thing was the Jaegers standing next to each other, towering over the entire bay. _‘Hologram didn’t do it justice.’_

“They are beautiful, aren’t they?” Fury enjoyed the dumbstruck look on Carol’s face.

“Hell yeah.” Words escaped Carol’s mouth and she quickly tried to recover. “Sir. Hell yeah, sir.”

Maria smiled to herself. “This bay holds six Jaegers. That one on the front is Avenger Danger. It’s almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. One of the first Jaegers we built, Mark 1.” She indicated towards it. 

“Who even came up with that name?” Carol smiled at herself.

“We had a poll.” Maria shrugged, then continued. “The one next to it is Rogue Phoenix. It’s smaller, but moves twice as fast.”

“And _how_ do they move exactly?” Carol pointed at the hangar. “What am I really doing here?”

“You didn’t tell her?” Maria looked at Fury in confusion.

“Where is the fun in that?” Fury shrugged. Elevator finally stopped, and they started walking around the hangar.

“Jaegers are operated by a two pilot system.” Maria started talking as Carol looked up at the Jaegers in awe. _‘This is what ants must feel like.’_

“There were test runs with single pilots.” Maria was solemn for a moment. “But that didn’t go to well. Now, we are using an experimental DARPA technology to connect two pilot’s minds. The pilots work together, like the two hemispheres on a brain. We call it ‘the drift’.”

“That sounds...” Carol didn’t know what to say.

“Groundbreaking?” Maria guessed.

“Science fiction.” Carol added honestly.

“That technology is why you’re here, Captain.” Fury joined in. “Your file says you tested it first in 2017.”

“That’s true.” Carol nodded. People glanced towards them as they walked, though no one seemed to be brave enough to stare at Fury. “But the interface I used was with a plane, not another person. How do you even know if the two pilots can work together?” Carol asked again.

“We rank everyone based on multiple parameters. Previous experience, fighting styles...” Maria said. “You included.” She glanced at Carol.

They reached the other end of the bay where the private rooms were placed. “This is your room key.” Maria reached into her pocket and gave the key to Carol. Fury waited a couple steps back. “Take today off to familiarize yourself with the base. Tomorrow, we’ll find out who you’re drift compatible with.”

“Thank you.” Carol pocketed the key while balancing her two bags. She nodded at Fury as a goodby, and went to find her room. 

-

“One-o-eight, one-o-eight…” Carol murmured to herself while glancing at the room numbers. “It has to be here somewhere...” She kept walking down the hall, with people passing by and glancing at her. “A ha! We found it Goose.” The room number was just at the end.

Carol placed Goose’s container by the door, who was anxious to finally be let out. She grabbed the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. 

“Oh, hi there! Who is this handsome fellow?” Someone said from behind her, and for an embarrassingly long second Carol thought they were talking to her.

“Cat, of course you’re talking to the cat.” Carol murmured to herself after she turned around and saw the woman crouching in front of Goose. “Her name’s Goose.” 

“Well, nice to meet you, Goose.” The woman turned her head Carol, then got up. “You must be new here.”

“What gave me away?” Carol smiled, her hair was a mess from the wind, she still had her scrubs on, and last minute addition old combat boots.

The woman smiled back, and Carol couldn’t help but notice how beautiful her smile was. “Welcome to the Shatterdome.” She reached her hand out and Carol shook it. “I’m Maria.”

“Carol.” Carol said, impressed with herself that she had managed to hold back the same-name jokes.

“Danvers, right?” Maria asked.

“Yeah...” Carol tried to remember if they had met before. “How d...”

“Don’t worry, we never met before.” Maria replied before Carol could finish the question. “It’s hard to not hear about the woman that crashed into a Kaiju, and lived to tell the tale.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”

“Maybe.” Maria shook her head. She glanced at the bag still slung over Carol’s shoulders. “If you want, I can show you around after you settle in, introduce you to the rest of the pilots?” She pointed at the room right opposite to Carol’s. “We’re neighbours. One-o-seven, that’s me.”

“I don’t want to bother you.” Carol was a little surprised at the friendly offer. “You were clearly going somewhere.”

“I can wait.” Maria replied. “On my first day here, it took me two hours to find the mess-hall. And you look like you could use something to eat.”

Carol was glad that the constant white noise around them drowned out the sounds coming from her stomach. “Can you give me fifteen minutes?” she asked.

“Sure thing.”

-

“Oh, is this actually fish?” Carol took another bite from her tray. Maria was watching her in a mixture of shock and amusement. “This is so good.” Carol turned her head to see Maria. “Sorry, it’s been a couple of years since I ate something that’s not from a factory synthesizer.” She apologized. “Kaiju blue.”

“I teared up a little when I saw the vegetables here, so no judgement.” Maria smiled and reached for her glass of water. Carol was relieved that she wasn’t the only one. In only an hour of knowing each other, Maria had managed to ease Carol’s mind on everything.

“Rambeau! There you are.” A red haired woman settled next to them on the long table, followed by a man. “Who’s this new person?”

“That’s Carol Danvers.” Maria said and Carol nodded as a greeting. “She’s the last of the Jaeger recruits.”

“A bit late to the party, but just in time for the pair-offs.” the woman said. “You should settle in nicely.”

“Don’t mind my friend here, she likes to talk.” the man joined in, narrowly escaping a kick in the chin. “I’m Clint, and that’s Natasha. Welcome to the base.”

“Nice to meet you two.” Carol said. “Are you guys copilots or?..”

“We should be.” Natasha replied waving her fork around. “But Fury wants every pilot to join tomorrow’s trials, so nothing is certain.”

“I’m sure you guys will end up together, you already have the one brain thing going on.” Maria said, waving her fork in the air.

“Well, thank you Rambeau.” Natasha replied, and the conversation started flowing between the three of them. Carol was contend with just observing them for now, she _was_ late to the party after all. But she had a feeling she would get along with them just fine.

-

Rest of the evening went uneventful. Natasha and Clint joined in on their tour, they even showed her a couple hiding spots to try if she ever got bored of her room. When they arrived back at the barracks, Maria waved her goodnight, and that was it.

Carol dropped back at her bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. This was not where she had thought she would be twelve hours ago. Usually by now, she would be returning home from a nice long gym session, getting herself tired enough to go right to sleep after a quick shower; not that it ever worked for a sleep without nightmares. 

But what started as a usual day for her, ended up here, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, once again a test pilot after two years of thinking she couldn’t go back. She had no idea what was expecting her tomorrow, and didn’t think she could rest from the excitement. But whatever that was, she was glad to have the chance.

-

“Okay people, listen up!” Fury walked into the gym, and everyone stopped in an instant. “Some of you already did this exercise once, but let this be a reminder.” He looked over the small crowd. “This exercise not about who wins, it’s about who has the greater compatibility while fighting. Who can guess the next move, who can match it.” He glanced at Carol. “To put it in simpler terms, it’s a dialogue. A dance if you’re feeling romantic. Danvers, step up to the floor.”

Carol felt everyone’s eyes on her, but she ignored the feeling, she was used to it. She stopped in the middle of the ring, with the fighting stick in her right hand.

“Romanoff, you too.” Fury said and Natasha followed. “Four hits marks a win.” he announced.

“Don’t worry Captain.” Natasha had a smile on her face. “I won’t hurt you too much.”

“Is that trash talk?” Carol smiled back. “And, I thought we were becoming friends.”

Fight started in an instant with Natasha blocking Carol’s swings easily. She sidestepped and tapped Carol behind the waist. “Zero-one.” Carol recovered and managed to tap Natasha on the shoulder right as the next set started. “One-one.”

“That was sneaky.” Natasha stepped back. “Good.” She decided not to hold back, and Carol was laying on the floor three moves later. “One-two.”

“Yeah I got that.” Carol jumped to her feet. She tried an all forward attack, designed to corner Natasha on one side, but after a set of blurry movements, she was laying on the floor again. This time Natasha’s thighs were around her neck, making it a little hard to breathe.

“Romanoff, this is about following after your opponent.” Hill’s displeasure was apparent in her voice. “Please follow the instructions.”

“My bad.” Natasha didn’t sound remorseful at all. She stopped her hold on Carol and got to her feet, then reached a hand out to lift her up.

Carol looked at the hand, then Natasha’s face. She didn’t look like the type to attack once someone was down, even though her face didn’t show anything. Carol accepted the offer and let Natasha pull her up.

The next point came easily and Natasha was declared the winner. Rest of the matches continued, and Carol met with almost everyone else in the Jaeger program. It was fitting that it happened on the fighting mat, they were training to save the world after all.

None of her remaining matches were an equal to Natasha, they all went down fairly easy compared to her. Someone named Steve came really close, but he relied on his power more than Carol. Apparently, that made for a bad drift, even though Carol thought there was a connection there.

“Rambeau, you’re up.” Hill sounded almost bored. They still didn’t have someone compatible with Carol, and they needed her expertise as a USAF test pilot for the program. This was proving more difficult already.

“Neighbour.” Carol bowed her head in a greeting. Maria stepped on the ring, her white sleeveless shirt was already drenched with sweat from the fights with the other recruits.

“Neighbour.” Maria nodded. “You got some nice moves.”

Carol laughed away the compliment. “Thanks. You do too.” She smiled. “I think Wilson is still limping.”

“Can’t really take credit.” Maria replied. “He tripped on his own feet.”

“I bet.” Carol returned to her starting position as Maria did the same.

“Four hits, one win, ladies.” Fury said from his place on the sidelines.

Carol raised an eyebrow, daring Maria to make the first move. When Maria stayed her ground, she made a quick attack and tapped her on the shoulder. “Zero-one.”

When Carol stepped back, Maria landed a quick hit on her right hip, too fast for Carol to counter. “One-one.” 

Carol had an amused expression on her face. She attacked again, this time blocked by Maria’s stick held sideways. She tried attacks one after another, and finally one landed on Maria’s stomach. “One-two.”

Maria shrugged it off. Adrenaline was starting to kick in and it wasn’t just from the fight. She let Carol make the first attack again, but didn’t let it go far this time. She took Carol down with a hit to the ankle. 

“‘Tripped on his own feet my ass.” Carol said from the floor and got up. The situation didn’t match the smile on her face.

“Two-two.” Maria smiled back. “Keep up, Danvers.”

Carol shook her head at that, as if she couldn’t believe Maria. They started trading moves for moves again, and this time Carol decided not to go for a hit. She simply just followed after Maria, blocked her hits, and started to guess where the next one would be. It took Maria enough time for a small crowd to gather, to land a hit on Carol’s arm. “Three-two.”

Carol didn’t notice the eyes on them this time, only thing she noticed was Maria. Anyone could be in the gym now, but all she saw was her. The fact that they were attacking each other with sticks, or that they had just met yesterday, was just small details.

Maria jumped to escape Carol’s attack from down. Carol attacked again, this time trying the same move Maria used before. But she was inexperienced with it, and managed to land on top of Maria when the hit landed. 

Long strands escaping from Carol’s hair pin almost reached Maria’s face, with a soft yellow hue coming from the ceiling. Maria gulped as Carol tried to control her breathing, both staring into each other’s eyes.

“Three-three.” Carol was at a loss of words. 

“Finally.” Hill said from her seat, startling Carol to jump to her feet. She reached a hand out to pull Maria up with her.

“I’ve seen enough.” Fury said. “Report back to the Shatterdome in two hours. Copilot lists and individual schedules will be waiting for you.” He looked around the room. “Real work starts now, ladies and gentleman.” He left the room, followed by Hill.

Carol and Maria stayed on the mat as the rest of the recruits went to clean up. Carol turned to Maria.

“I should...”

“Yep...”

They left the mat, going in opposite directions, each deliberately walking the wrong way to avoid the other.

-

“Okay, is this too tight?” the technician putting on Carol’s armor asked.

“No, it’s fine.” Carol was in a dark blue suit, and insulation plates were being mounted on top of it. It felt heavy, but she assumed it was necessary to do the job. “Do you know who my copilot is? I was told to just come here.”

“Don’t know.” the technician finished securing the chest piece. “But here she comes.” she glanced towards the door, and Carol turned her head to see what she was looking at.

“Maria!” Word escaped Carol’s mouth before she could reign in her shock.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Maria smiled and stepped on the other side of the controls.

“I’m not.” Carol denied.

“You know were about to be in each other’s heads.” Maria raised an eyebrow. 

“Well then...” Carol smiled. “You look good.”

_“Avenger Danger, are you ready for simulation mode?”_ Hill’s voice came over the intercom.

Carol indicated Maria to take the lead, and Maria reached for the button in the top left corner. “Control, simulation mode initiated.” She turned her head to Carol. “Are you good on the right side?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

_“Pilots are ready and standing by.”_

_“Prepare for neural handshake.”_ Fury announced.

_“Initiating neural handshake.”_ Hill confirmed. _“Prepare for simulation.”_

Carol and Maria secured their helmets. “So, have you ever done this before?” Carol asked as the insulation fluid cleared up.

“No.” Maria replied. “First time for everything, right?”

_“Remember, random acts can trigger memories. Don’t latch on to them, let them flow through you.”_ Hill said. _“Tune them out and stay in the drift. If you don’t, you’ll break out of alignment, and won’t be able to pilot the Jaeger. This is a two person job.”_

“Roger that.” 

“Copy.”

_“Neural handshake initiated.”_

_At the beach, the go-cart tract, her father’s face looking at her. Someone is singing a lullaby, it sounds familiar. A baby is crying. Maria walking away with tears in her eyes. An elderly couple is standing by. Are they her parents? A Kaiju roars. The Golden Gate bridge is in ruins. “Danvers no!”_

It felt like an eternity, but when Carol opened her eyes again, she was still in the simulation room. She turned her head to Maria, and they looked at each other for a moment, then turned forward. 

_“Right hemisphere calibrating.”_ Carol lifted her right hand, and Maria instinctively followed.

_“Left hemisphere calibrating.”_ Maria lifted her right hand up, and Carol followed this time.

_“Ready to activate the Jaeger.”_ Hill announced. 

They didn’t need to talk at all. Moving the Jaeger was surprisingly easy, like moving a finger. The act didn’t require an active thought, it was instinctive. 

_“Oh this is so cool.”_ Carol thought.

_“I know, right?”_ Maria replied.

_“Okay Avenger. You’re lined up.”_ Hill announced. _“Stand by for simulation. Three… Two… One… Go for simulation.”_

Dark screen in front of them lighted up, and a city came in view. Their Jaeger appeared on a street, and in the distance a Kaiju was tearing its way down to them.

“How do we do this?” Maria asked out loud. Thoughts were flying in both their heads, and speaking out loud helped her focus on a single one.

“Let’s just get in there and punch it.” Carol shrugged. How did you even fight something like that with conventional sparring methods?

“You read my mind.” Maria smiled.

They started running towards the Kaiju, perfectly coordinated; right left, right left.

-

“Neural handshake is steady at ninety two percent, sir.” Hill said from her place in the control room. “Wait, it’s rising up. Ninety three, ninety four.”

“Put the simulation feed on the big screen.” Fury ordered, waiting behind her with his hands clasped behind his back.

Video started playing just as the Avenger landed a right hook at the Kaiju’s head, making it fall on a building top. Kaiju recovered and jumped, but the Avenger unleashed the swords form both knuckles, and crossed their arms. When the Kaiju was close enough, they unclasped their arms, both swords making contact with the Kaiju’s neck. The monster’s body fell down with a cloud of dust, and it’s head rolled away.

_“Wow, that was disgusting!”_ Maria laughed, joined in by Carol.

“Good job, Avenger Danger.” Hill said into the microphone. “Stand by for further instructions.”

_“Copy that, control.”_ Maria said.

“Was that a category one?” Fury asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Yes, sir.” Hill confirmed after checking her notes.

“Run it again, category two.” Fury ordered. He crossed his arms, curious to see what happens next.

-

_“Mommy!” a baby girl with cries. Maria keeps going, she has to. Little Carol crashes her go-cart, she can hear her father screaming. She lands on the ground, again and again._

Random memories flowed as Carol focused on staying in the moment. She wasn’t sure what triggered it, but when she opened her eyes again, they were gone. With a side glance at Maria, she tried to make sure her copilot was doing the same.

_“I’m okay.”_ Maria thought. The memory wasn’t something she was proud of, and she could sense the feelings try to creep back in, but she reigned them in. The simulation was still going, and this wasn’t the time to explain things.

_“I didn’t say anything.”_

_“We’re in each other’s minds, Danvers.”_ Maria raised an eyebrow.

_“Doesn’t mean you owe me an explanation.”_ Maria could feel Carol actually meant that, and she replied with a small smile. 

Their little moment was interrupted when the Kaiju roared in the distance. They turned their heads to it. 

“What other weapons do we have?” Carol asked and glanced at her side of the controls. 

“This one looks promising.” Maria mused and let the weapon’s profile show on the display. 

Carol smiled to herself and pressed release. Right hand of the Jaeger transformed, and bright blue lights covered around it. They moved to a sideways position, with right leg behind to provide support, and when the Kaiju jumped at them, they landed a right hook, powered by the plasma cannon. Kaiju’s head hit the building, and Maria instinctively landed a left hook. 

“Target locked.” Carol announced, and multiple guns appeared from the Jaeger’s shoulders. 

_-_

“Neural link at ninety six percent.” Hill announced. “This is the highest score we’ve seen, sir.” 

“Can they handle it?” Fury didn’t leave his eyes from the fight. 

“Apparently, higher the neural connection, the better they fight.” Hill replied. 

“Good.” Fury nodded. “I want these two to start testing Avenger Danger this week.” 

“Sir, the Jaeger is still in assembly.” Hill replied. 

“Then make sure it’s finished.” Fury turned her head to Hill. “Last three Kaiju attacks had twenty four weeks between them, but for all we know, the next one can happen at any moment. We have to be ready.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

_-_


	2. Don't Chase the Rabbit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your support on this story, but also for your kindness and patience. It means the world to me. Also there is a bit of cursing in this chapter.

Days started to settle in a routine, and Carol spent most of her time with Maria. They started each day in the gym, sparring, and ended it in the simulation room. Rest of the time was spent studying Kaiju anatomy, the breach, and everything the scientist at the base thought was relevant to the Jaeger program.

Carol still also became closer to the rest of the Jaeger pilots, in what little time they all had between training sessions. Steve became a surprisingly good sparring partner for her, and when it was time for breaks, Bucky would shock everyone with the day’s special goods, stolen from the kitchens.

Today, Carol and Steve had already finished their sparring match, and were watching Maria and Sam get ready for theirs. Steve leaned his back on the gym wall, while Carol reached for her water bottle.

"You got this Wilson!" Steve clapped his hands.

Carol just smiled to herself while shaking her head. She was pretty sure who would be the winner, and they didn't need any encouragement from her.

Maria turned her head to Carol and winked. 

Carol found it hard to gulp down her sip of water, when Maria did _that._

It had been more than two weeks since she stepped in this base, but recently, it was becoming more and more difficult to ignore that there was something between her and Maria. Being connected by the drift didn't help, if anything it made it more complicated to figure out what was real and what wasn't. But for now, she was enjoying the closeness between them.

Carol nodded with a smile at Maria, and the fight started.

Maria let Sam's attack happen, and easily redirected it, causing him to stumble. He quickly gained his footing, and launched to another attack.

Carol felt herself unable to take her eyes from the fight, and from Maria. She could hear Steve talking right next to her, narrating the fight and assuming what the next move could've been, but she I all sounded distant to her.

Maria was wearing a light pink camisole with black tights, and she moved so easily in them. 

Usually, Carol would have something to do while Maria fought; like talking with the other pilots or technicians, but today, she had nothing. And that made it more than possible for her to notice how gracefully Maria moved. 

Of course there was the force, clear power in how each hit landed; but Carol was too preoccupied with staring at Maria's biceps to notice.

It's not like they hadn't fought before, they sparred all the time. But she didn't have the chance before to stop and think, she had to defend herself. Now, all she could do was to stare.

With a side step and hooking her stick behind Sam's ankle, Maria caused him to fall on the mat, panting.

"Come on Wilson." Maria leaned on the stick in her hands. "I barely hit you this time."

"Oh god..." Sam groaned and held on to his side. "I can't take this anymore..." He wasn't that injured, but he loved doing theatrics. "Steve..." he pointed at where Steve and Carol was standing. "Do something, your copilot is getting wrecked here."

"More like getting his ass handed to him." Carol chuckled.

"I would love to help Sam, but it wouldn't be fair to fight two against one." Steve pointed out.

"Let's even the odds then." Maria said with a smile. "Danvers, what do you say? Let's show these boys how its done."

"I thought you'd never ask."

-

The day was finally over, Carol was lying on the floor, trying to look under her bed. “Come on Goose, where are you?”

Maria knocked on Carol’s door, but the door opened instead. She cursed at herself for staring at Carol’s behind for longer than what would be acceptable for a friend, and lifted her gaze to the ceiling.

“Not that I’m hating the view.” Maria leaned on the door frame. “But what the hell are you doing on the floor, Danvers?”

Carol manage not to hit her head as she crawled out from under the bed, and turned to a sitting position on the floor. “Goose is missing.” she said. “I think I left the door open this morning.”

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Maria tried to ease Carol’s mind.

“Probably.” Carol nodded. “But I don’t like the idea of her running around in a base where anything can happen.”

Maria walked over to Carol and reached a hand out to lift her up. “Come on, let’s go take a stroll at the base.” Maria offered. “Ask if anyone’s seen an orange monster running around.”

“Hey!” Carol exclaimed once she got to her feet.

“That thing is like Crookshanks, Danvers.” Maria said as if that was the most obvious comment.

“What’s a crookshank?” Carol asked narrowing her eyes in thought.

“From Harry Potter.” Maria replied as they started walking to Carol’s door. “Hermione Granger’s cat. The one that eats everything.” Maria turned to Carol. “Wait, how can you not know about Harry Potter?”

“Never read it.” Carol shrugged nonchalantly. Of course she had, the special edition book set waiting for her back in her apartment was proof enough. But the shocked look in Maria’s face was worth pretending like she hadn’t. Maria would know about it in their next drift anyway.

“Okay Danvers, you’re in need of some enlightenment.” Maria said and reached for Carol’s arm, linking them like that was something they did all the time. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help you through it.”

Carol looked at their linked arms once, and smiled. _‘Oh, I can get used to this.’_

In the end, they found Goose in front of Fury’s quarters, and he denied any encounter with the cat. Carol decided to ignore the bright orange fur on Fury’s collar for now, he clearly had a reputation he was trying to protect, and they returned back to the dorms, Carol eagerly listening to Maria as she talked about the-boy-who-lived.  
-

Finishing Avenger Danger took longer than Fury asked for, or liked. His displeasure was apparent in every step he took, in every word he said, but that was about it. He let the engineers and scientists have the extra time they asked for, because in the end they had to make the Jaeger safe for the pilots running it, or they would be out of pilots in a really short time.

The blaring alarm clock woke Carol up, like it often did the past couple of weeks. She was finally starting to get used to sleeping through the night without nightmares, or any dreams for that matter, and she assumed it was due to the constant white noise surrounding the base.

She rolled the covers off her and got up, then reached for the alarm clock on the small table, turning it off. Her daily schedule was displayed on the small screen on the wall, and she glanced around it, assuming it was the usual.

The last item on the list caught her eye, and a large smile covered her face. 

‘Danger’ was fınally ready.

-

“Okay...Why is there a northstar on our suits?” Maria looked down on her chest piece. Their suits were on, with the little addition of a bright yellow star at the middle.

“I asked them to add it.” Carol replied. “Why, you don’t like it?”

“No, no.” Maria said quickly. “It brings a little color in here.”

“Well, it’s mostly for good luck.” 

“Danvers, don’t tell me you’re one of those people that believes in totems and stuff.” Maria was smiling when a technician held her helmet for her to take.

“No I don’t.” Carol said, mocking a pout. “Shut up.”

Maria chuckled at that, and reached for her side of the controls. They were finally in their Jaeger, about to start the test run. And so far, it felt familiar; the simulation room was designed to be almost an exact replica of inside a Jaeger’s head, so they had managed to settle into their sides.

“Setting equipment for test mode.” Maria said after pressing on a button. Their seats rolled down from the ceiling, and they stepped in front of them.

 _”Pilot’s locked and ready to engage.”_ The mechanical voice of the computer system announced.

 _“Prepare for neural handshake.”_ Fury said from the control room.

“Also, I would appreciate if you didn’t think about getting fries this time.” Maria said after putting on her helmet.

“That was one time.” Carol protested, then put on her own helmet. “I was snacky.”

“How’s that even a word?” Maria laughed.

 _“Initiating the neural handshake.”_ Hill announced. _“You’re not in the simulation room anymore, Danger. Good luck.”_

“Didn’t know you cared Hill.” Carol joked.

_”Don’t get used to it.”_

_“Neural drift interface initiated.”_

-

Every other pilot was gathered in the observation gallery next to the control room, like they always did when a Jaeger was being tested. They all clapped when the Jaeger put its left fist in its right hand. It was a standard way to greet an opponent in fight, and they usually used that move to indicate a successful neural connection.

Then things got interesting when Carol and Maria started to show off. There was the classic peace sign, a double thumbs up, and something Hill was pretty sure was a curse in a different language. She shook her head with a smile, it was still one of the best tests they had.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring in the control room, and red lights in the ceiling switched on.

“What’s going on?” Fury stepped towards Hill’s controls. “Is it the Jaeger?” He looked through the window, but the Jaeger seemed to be normal.

“No, Sir...” Hill slightly rolled her chair to the next set of controls, then returned, while checking both computers. She pulled up a satellite image on the big screen, and her suspicions were confirmed. “The breach is active.” 

Image was not great, they certainly needed the software upgrade Stark was talking about, but the bright blue lights in the middle of the ocean was unmistakable.

“Damn it!” Fury shook his head in frustration. “It’s only been three months.”

 _”You’re awfully quiet over there, control.”_ Carol’s voice came over the alarm sounds. _”Is something wrong?”_

Hill reached to silent the sound alarm, while the red light was still on. Fury reached for the intercom. “Test is over, Avenger Danger.” He said. “Breach is active. Disconnect and report to war stations.”

Inside the Jaeger Carol and Maria shared a look, and a clear stream of thoughts.

_”It’s too soon.”_

_“I’m sure the Kaiju doesn’t care.”_

_“We have to go.”_

_“Fury may like you for some reason, but he’s not foolish enough to let us.”_

_“Only one way to know.”_ Carol reached for the controls. _“Sir, do you have an estimated trajectory for the Kaiju?”_ she asked.

Hill pulled up another map while Fury answered. “Looks like Northern America.” He followed the lines of the map. “Canada. Possibly Vancouver.”

 _”Kaiju can be there, in what, forty-five minutes?”_ Carol said as she did the calculations in her head. _“So can we. Sir, if you wait for another team to get ready, a lot of civilian damage will already be done.”_

Hill turned her head to watch Fury make the decision, but she could guess what he was about to say. “They’re not ready, Sir. This is their first test.”

“What’s the population of Vancouver?” Fury thought out loud. “More than two million, if I remember right.. We don’t have enough time to evacuate an entire city. With our best deployment time, we may reach there before the Kaiju.”

“Again, sir, Romanoff and Barton are more...” Hill started only to be interrupted by Fury.

“They will need at least fifteen minutes to gear up. Thousands will be lost by then.” Fury said and reached for the communications. “Okay Danger, you’re being deployed.” He turned back to Hill. “Tell the Rogue Phoenix team to gear up right now. They’re the backup.”

-

“How did we get into this situation exactly?” Maria asked while watching the ocean pass by. They were currently being carried towards a category two Kaiju on its way to destroying Vancouver. “And how did you convince Fury?”

“You know, it’s probably my sunny and charming personality.”

“Yeah. Probably that.”

The city lights in the distance became visible, but the Kaiju was not there yet. 

“Looks like we beat it here.” Carol commented. Their transport reached the shoreline, the computer announced to get ready for the drop.

“We can use that to our advantage, I guess.” Maria braced herself before they hit the ground, and the Jaeger stood tall on the abandoned beach.

“You’re not scared are you?” Carol went for the tease.

“Please, I know you’re the scared one.”

 _“Danger, how’s it looking out there?”_ Hill’s voice brought them back to the situation at hand, but Carol couldn’t help the answer.

“A bit chilly, I think I should’ve brought my sweater.” Maria smiled at that, with a side glance at Carol.

_”I’m taking this as ‘We’re ready to engage.’.”_

“Oh you can say that.”

“We’re ready to kick some Kaiju ass, if that’s what you’re asking Hill.” Maria joined in.

 _“I’m glad to hear it.”_ Hill looked at the map on the screen in front of her. _“Because you have two minutes before ’Scourge’ reaches your location.”_

“Okay Hill, we have to talk about these names.” Carol faked a groan.

_”You try coming up with names for mythical monsters.”_

“I hate to admit it, but Danvers is kinda right.” Maria added.

“Thanks for the support, partner.”

_”I hate you guys.”_

-

“Here comes trouble.” Maria commented when the Kaiju came in view. It seemed slow in the distance, but they both knew how much distance the monster passed with one step.

“Did you just quote another movie?” Carol said, gesturing like she couldn’t believe it. “You might have an addiction.”

“You know what? I haven’t forgiven you for Harry Potter, so don’t try your luck Danvers.”

“Yeah, yeah.” 

They moved to a defensive position, with the right leg behind for support, and arms ready in front of them. The Kaiju noticed them, and started running. Carol and Maria moved the right hand up as the Kaiju jumped at them, and it landed on the punch.

Kaiju dropped back from the impact, and so did the Jaeger. 

“Try the swords!” Maria shouted over the stream of thoughts, and they both reached their controls. 

Left arm released the set of interlocking metals, and the sword locked, but nothing happened on the right.

“Right side nonresponding!” Carol shouted and tried again. 

“No time!”

Kaiju moved forward and they stepped back to miss it. Maria moved the left hand and went for a stab of the monsters back. The sword went all the way in, with the Kaiju screaming in agony, but when they tried to pull back, it didn’t move.

“It’s stuck!” Maria shouted, and Carol tried to help with the right hand. They caught the full swing of the monster’s tail unprepared, and the impact broke off the sword with them landing on the side of a building.

“Shit!” they said at the same time.

Kaiju was still alive, and moved towards them again. Carol reached for the nearest car and swung it at the Kaiju’s head, and they stood up. Maria reached for the missile control, while they ran towards the monster. Bombs created enough distraction for them to land a punch with the left hand, and the broken end of the sword pierced the Kaiju’s eye.

_Bright blue eyes of the Kaiju opens, Carol feels the blood freeze in her veins. She’s close, too close. She can’t level the plane in time. It hits, and everything goes black._

For a moment, Carol thought she was back in San Francisco, in the seat of her small f-16. It was so easy to mistake the memory from reality. But before she could focus on that too much, Maria landed another punch again... 

_”You don’t even know when you’ll be back!” Her mother’s words ring in Maria’s ears. It’s only the third time her mother says those words, and it won’t be the last._

... the Kaiju dropped on the ground, and the Jaeger fell on its knees. 

-

The control room cheered when the Kaiju dropped, but their excitement didn’t last long. The red alarm from before started blaring again.

"That alarm is really starting to get on my nerves." Fury said through gritted teeth. "Now what?"

"They're out of alignment, Sir!" Hill said, while running multiple system checks, hoping to be wrong.

"Sir, sir..." a technician ran up to Fury. The questioning glare she got from Fury would normally stop her in her tracks, but she was too high on adrenaline to notice. "I'm still picking up life signals from the Kaiju." She gulped. "It's not dead."

"Do any of you motherfuckers have good news?!." Fury said pinching the bridge of his nose. "ETA on the Rogue Phoenix?" He turned to Maria.

"Eight minutes." Maria looked at the controls in front of her.

"God dammit!"

-

_'You know why they call it the cockpit, right?' The words echoes, and Carol feels the unnerving urge to punch the guy who says it. She would, but she knows it won't make a difference. Because it's just a memory. She closes her eyes to let it go._

Carol opened her eyes, and immediately knew something was wrong. She was still in her pilot's suit, but she wasn't back in the Jaeger like it she had been before. No, it was a kitchen, of a house she didn't recognize, and she could hear sounds coming from nearby.

 _"You can't do this."_ A woman said, her emotional tone was overwhelming, even when Carol couldn't see her.

 _"I have to, mom. You know that."_ Now, that was a voice Carol recognized.

"Maria." Carol whispered to herself, and started walking towards the sounds. "Maria!" She passed through a long hallway, to find the stairs going up, and the sounds were clearer.

 _"No, I don't. I don't understand why you have to be the one to do it. Let them find other pilots. You have a daughter, think about her for a second."_ Carol started running up the stairs. "Maria!"

 _"For a second..."_ Maria huffed under her breath. _"I think about her all goddamn time! She's the only reason I need to do this."_ she took a deep breath. _"How can I look at my baby girl in the eye, if I just wait here while people are fighting out there? What do I say, when she asks what her mother was doing to stop it?"_

Carol quickly walked through the hall, and turned the corner while ghosting her hand on the wall. Finally, she reached the open door, but something made her stop.

Maria was standing in the middle of a room, not in her Jaeger suit, but in a simple blouse and jeans. There was another woman there, an older one, standing in front of a baby's crib.

 _”Danvers! Rambeau! Come in!”_ Carol could hear Hill’s uncharacteristically frantic voice, but she was more focused on something else.

“Maria?” Carol stepped inside the room, but there was no indication that she was heard.

 _”At least you’d be here.”_ the older woman countered. _“What if you get hurt? Or worse. You said it yourself, they’ve never tested it before. It might all be for nothing.”_

_“Or it could be the thing that saves us.”_

-

“The Kaiju is moving!” The technician from before, whose name tag revealed as Emily, said, looking at her tablet. “Sir, the Kaiju...” she showed the tablet to Fury.

“Where the hell is my backup?” Fury shouted.

“Seven minutes.” Hill replied, then reached for the microphone again, even though they haven’t been able to make contact with the Danger team. “Danger! You’re out of alignment! Danvers! Rambeau! Come in!”

-

 _”Danvers! Rambeau! Come in!”_ Carol heard the words repeated again, but moved toward Maria without replying. This moment, there was something about it that felt special, felt private. She knew she didn’t belong there, but Maria was standing in front of her, looking determined. “Maria?”

Again, no one replied. The woman, Maria’s mother, and Maria were locked in a stare contest, letting the last words of their argument settle in the air between them.

 _”Danger, if you can hear me, the Kaiju is alive!”_ That finally pulled Carol back to reality, and she felt herself back in the Jaeger again.

Carol looked around, she was on her knees, and saw that Maria was too. But Maria still wasn’t conscious. The neural link between them was still there, and Carol could see herself in Maria’s house, while at the same time she could see the Jaeger cockpit around them. 

She reached for the controls. “Control, this is Captain Danvers.” 

_“Danvers, what the hell happened?!”_ Hill asked, finally relieved that someone answered. _“Where is Rambeau?”_

“I don’t know.” Carol replied. “I think she is stuck in a memory. She can’t hear me.”

 _“Danvers, Carol...”_ Hill let her voice soften. _“Listen, the Kaiju is still alive. You have to pull Maria out.”_

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying?” Carol regretted the harsh tone, but it was the frustration seeping through. “I told you, she can’t hear me!”

 _“Then make her dammit!”_ Fury grabbed the mic from Hill’s side. _”I didn’t travel to goddamn New York for a quitter. I did it for the best pilot in Air Force history. Don’t prove me wrong, Captain. I hate being proven wrong.”_

“I don’t know how...”

 _“That doesn’t matter.”_ Fury shook his head. _”What matters is, you’re the only two people standing in the middle of that monster, and a city of two million people. Backup won’t be there in time.”_

“You’re right about that one, sir.” Carol looked forward, into the bright blue eyes of the Kaiju once again. “There’s not enough time.”

-

“Maria, you have to hear me.” Carol in the room with Maria said. “This is just a memory.”

 _“Danvers, what are you doing?”_ Hill asked, not believing the readout from the Jaeger’s control system.

“Uhm...” Carol couldn’t remember feeling this much pain before, but she put all her willpower forward. “I don’t… I can’t really talk right now… Hill.” She managed to pull her left knee up, and so did the Jaeger.

_”Are you insane? You can’t pilot the Jaeger alone!”_

“Not… not the first time… someone called me that.” Carol said through gritted teeth, standing up now. “Maria, this... would be a great... moment to jump in.” she said to Maria in the room.

Kaiju looked right at the Jaeger’s head, and Carol was pretty sure it knew she was there. It shook its head once, and started running right at her.

_”Don’t do this Danvers!.. Carol, the neural load will kill you!”_

Carol didn’t answer, she just reached for the plasma cannon and turned it on. Back in the house she tried again. “Maria...” 

Kaiju jumped at the Jaeger, and Carol barely managed to land a punch with the plasma cannon. It stumbled back, with its head scraping off windows, but it waved a paw in the air, hitting the Jaeger in the chest. Carol couldn’t put her feet down in time, and landed on her back, hitting a pedestrian crossing bridge in the way.

She felt the blood trickle from her nose, most likely a result of the strain and the hit. In the Jaeger, she was lying on the ground, but in the house she was still on her feet.

“Maria, you have to come back.” Carol said standing right next to Maria.

 _“I’m gonna check on Monica.”_ Maria finally said, breaking the silence between her and her mom. She turned towards the door, and started walking. Monica was in the neighbour’s house for a play date, and she passed the hall to go downstairs, to get outside.

Carol followed after her, while moving the Jaeger to an upright position. The splitting headache forming in her head had to wait. She reached Maria downstairs, right as Maria reached for the door handle to go outside.

“Monica is not there!” It was all she could think to say.

-

 _”This is not real! This is just a memory!”_ Words sounded distant to Maria. She wasn’t sure she actually heard it, or it was just her ears playing tricks on her.

 _”Maria...”_ Now _that_ was familiar. She had this strange sense that she knew where it was coming from.

_“I can’t... do this by myself...”_

“What?” Maria turned around to see Carol standing on the last step of the stairs. “What’s going on?”

“Finally!” Carol ran up to her. “You have to come back Maria, you’re stuck in a memory.”

“A memory?” Maria looked around in confusion. She was in her house, where she knew. It didn’t feel like a memory, it felt real.

“Yes.” Carol said, but her expression changed. “Oh, shit...” 

Back in Vancouver, the Kaiju had recovered and was running for her once again. She couldn’t counter in time, and landed on a building side with blood running down her nose. In the house, she stumbled back.

Maria ran forward to steady her with a hand on her back. It felt different, more solid than anything else around her. “Carol?” Maria inspected her face. “You’re bleeding...”

“It’s nothing.” Carol shook her head. “This is just in your head, Maria. Wherever this place is...” She looked around the room. “We’re not there. I know it feels real, but it’s not.”

“I… I don’t understand what happened...”

“We can try to understand it another time.” Carol managed a soft smile. “But I’m currently getting my ass handed to myself by a Kaiju named ‘Scourge’.” she said. “I need you to come back.”

-

Maria opened her eyes, to the Jaeger. Lights and alarms flashed all around her, and every part of her felt sore, but she was back.

“We have to stop it from going inland.” Carol said. Kaiju had started walking towards the city, while their Jaeger was lying under a pile of rubble.

“Okay.” Maria looked forward, and reached her left hand, the Jaeger’s left hand, to swipe off the Jaeger on top of them. “Let’s just finish this.”

_”They’ll never let you fly now.” Words come from far away, but Carol ignores them._

With one side glance at each other, they stood up, and started running for the Kaiju. Maria reached for her screen, and pressed a set of commands. Thrusters on the back of the Jaeger fired, giving them enough push to reach the Kaiju’s tail. Carol grabbed the tail with one hand and pulled. Kaiju skipped to a halt, and turned its head around.

“Hi there.” Carol used the plasma cannon to fire, and the blast hit the Kaiju in the neck.

-

Flight back to the shatterdome was quiet on all sides. The neural link was disconnected, and Carol’s few attempts at ‘asking how Maria was’, were answered with curt ‘I’m fine’s. 

After the Jaeger was strapped in the hangar bay, Maria stepped down, followed by Carol. She could see Fury and Hill waiting in front of the door, but their faces were unreadable. Carol turned to Maria before walking towards them.

“Don’t look so nervous.”

“I almost got us killed, Danvers.” Maria simply stated. “I think I have a little right to be nervous.”

“We just killed a category two Kaiju.” Carol said. “They’re not going to kick us out.”

“Yeah, for you maybe.” Maria shook her head. “Me on the other hand, I’m toast.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” Maria started walking.

Fury watched them come closer with his hands in the pockets of his ever present black trenchcoat. Hill was waiting with her hands behind her back, in her usual pose. Only other people in the bay were technicians, running around to analyze the first battle worn Jaeger.

“Sir...” Carol started first, but Maria cut her off.

“It was my fault, Sir.” Maria said. “I was out of...”

“No, I fell out of alignment first.” Carol jumped in. 

Fury glanced at each of them. “Are you two done?” He looked almost bored.

“What?” Carol was too baffled for a better sentence.

“Hill.” Fury said and Hill reached for her phone, then started a hologram in front of them.

“This is on every news outlet.” Hill narrated for them. “A weather news helicopter was flying near the shore before the fight.” If Carol didn’t know any better, she would think that was said with a smile. “They got the whole thing.”

“Is that good news or bad?” Maria asked.

“I just got the president calling me to approve my grant proposal.” Fury said. “So I would say that’s good.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “The whole world just saw our only project succeed. They don’t know what happened inside the fight.” he said. “And I would like to keep it that way.”

“Why?” Maria was confused.

“You two piloted an untested machine, against an unbeaten enemy. Yes, it could’ve gone better.” Fury nodded. “But it also could’ve gone a lot worse.” He added looking Maria in the eye. ”We will look into the fight record, and that’s all.”

“Both of you are expected at medical.” Hill said. “No, it’s not negotiable.” she added before Carol could open her mouth.

-

“Danvers, I see you’re alright.” Natasha unceremoniously opened the door of the medical bay and walked inside. She was already out of her pilot suit, and in a simple t shirt with pants combination.

Carol was sitting in the exam table, with a hand on her helmet next to her. “Yeah, looks like it.” she said. “Not to be ungrateful or anything, but how did you get in here?” she asked, the doctor had left to get her results, but before that they were pretty adamant on secrecy.

“I have my ways.” Natasha said with a smile. “I thought I should break you guys out of here.”

“You’re a bit late for that, but I appreciate it.”

“Where is your other half?” Natasha made a point of looking around the otherwise empty room.

“ _Maria_ ” Carol emphasized. “is in the other room.”

“Oh I checked that one. They told me she was already finished.” Natasha narrowed her eyebrows. “I assumed she’d be with you.”

“Huh.” Carol as confused. She shook her head.

“Well then, you go find her.” Natasha started leaving for the door. “And bring both your asses to the rec room.” She put up a threatening finger. “Don’t try and argue with me. We’re celebrating.”

“Fine.”

-

It didn't take too much time for Carol to figure out where her copilot was. Their rooms were too obvious, and it would be impossible for Maria to go in unnoticed. Her suit wasn’t checked in, which meant she didn’t return to the hangar bay either. After those options were deemed implausible, Carol only had to try one place: the secret spot Natasha showed them on her first day here.

“You know, deck seven has a better view.” Carol said, looking at Maria near the edge.

“Yeah, but this one’s quieter.” Maria didn’t turn from where she was leaning against the railing with her arms. Pilot suit made the pose hard, but she didn’t mind.

Carol slowly walked towards Maria, and leaned on the railing with her back, so that she could watch her. “People are asking for you. I mean, Romanoff was.” she said. “You disappeared after the exam.”

“I needed some alone time.” Maria was still looking forward.

“That’s understandable.” Carol shrugged. “But... I don’t know… Maybe we should talk about what happened.”

Maria pushed off the railing and stood up straight. “Okay, let’s talk.” It was too serious of a tone for her.

“Why are you doing _that_?”

“I’m not doing anything.” Maria crossed her arms.

“Yes you are. I know you’re angry about something.” Carol waved a hand in the air. “Is it me?” she asked. “Is it because I saw...”

“No, of course not.” Maria dropped her hands. “I’m not angry at you.”

“Then what is it?” Carol asked, taking a small step towards Maria.

“I… I’m angry at myself, okay?” Maria replied, waving her hands in frustration. “I failed. I almost got us killed. I almost destroyed this entire program...”

Carol closed the distance between them and put both her hands at Maria’s shoulders. “Hey, where’s all that coming from?” She looked at her right in the eyes. “You didn’t do any of that. What you did was saving a city of millions of people. That’s what you, _we_ did, and it’s all that matters.” Carol smiled. “I know you don’t talk about your daughter that much, but… I’m sure she’s really proud of you.”

Maria didn’t move for a moment, then suddenly hugged Carol, putting her head on Carol’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” They stayed like that for a while, with Carol leaning her head against Maria. It wasn’t the most comfortable position in their pilot suits, but neither minded. Then, Carol felt the short exhale brush her neck, and slowly, it turned to a laugh. “Wait, are you laughing?”

Maria lifted her head up and leaned back, but left her hands on Carol’s waist. “I am.” Tear tracks glimmered in the fluorescent light as she smiled.

“Oh god, I think I broke you too.”

Maria swatted her on the shoulder. “It takes more than this to break me.”

“I bet.” Carol smiled back.

“We just killed a category two Kaiju.” Maria said with a smile, the events finally dawning on her as the adrenalin of the fight waned away.

“Yes we did.” Carol nodded. “Are you just realizing that?” she joked. “I’ve been telling you that for the past hour.” She earned herself another swat on the shoulder.

“Jackass.” Maria shook her head. “Do you know what this means?” Carol waited for her to continue. “They are defeatable. We finally have a chance. We can put an end to all of them.”

“That’s right.” Carol replied. “And apparently, we’re celebrating that by partying with the rest of the pilots tonight.”

“Oh I can definitely use that.” Maria said, but didn’t want Carol to feel the need to go just for her. “But we can totally skip out if you need the rest.”

“Define ‘rest’.” Carol smiled to herself. If what she had been doing before joining the Jaeger program counted as rest, she had enough to last her a while. “We should go. It could be fun.”

“Come on then.” Maria swung an arm across Carol’s shoulders, and Carol on Maria’s side. “And I promise we’ll talk more after tonight.”

-

They were greeted with cheers the moment they opened the door. Carol lost count of how many people swatted them on the shoulders, but she didn’t mind. They were too wound up from the day’s events, and the support of a team of Jaeger pilots helped them to get their mind off of it.

After the initial excitement, everyone went back to what they were doing. The Liberty trio were shooting darts with Barton, ‘big mistake’ as Natasha stated next to Hill. Carol eyed the pool table in the corner, and with a smiling glance at Maria, they ran towards it.

"Hill." Natasha said without leaving her eyes from the pool table in the distance.

"Yes." Hill didn’t take her eyes from the dart shooters. She wasn’t there as their commanding officer, but she couldn’t help the responsible feeling inside her. The last time Wilson got drunk shooting darts, Barton ended up with one in his arm. And Hill would like to avoid that happening again.

"Something is definitely going over there, right?" Natasha indicated the table with her bottle.

"Probably.” Hill turned to where Natasha was pointing at. Maria was currently helping Carol with her shot, or that was the intention anyway. It did look like anything else but helping. “No one needs to stand that close while playing pool."

"Yeah." Natasha had a thoughtful look on her face, one Hill recognized as leading-up-to-no-good kind.

"Nat, you're not betting on your fellow pilots." Hill said. "Remember what happened the last time?" She raised an accusatory eyebrow.

"Come on, that was Barton's fault." Natasha replied, also remembering the dart incident. "He should’ve never let Wilson take the shot.”

“Maybe.” Hill said. “But I also remember you being there.” she nodded. “Exchanging something with Barnes.”

“How did you even see that?” Natasha asked, she was surprised, though not as much as her tone suggested.

“I know everything Romanoff.” Hill said. “You’ll do well to remember that.”

Natasha was quiet for a second, then burst out laughing. “Chills, I just got chills.” She said waving her hand in front of her. “Is that the tone you use with new recruits? I mean you should, it’s very effective.”

“Oh, shut up.” Hill groaned and took a swig of her beer, a smile only noticeable to Natasha, forming on her face. When they turned back to the pool table, Carol wasn’t there, and Maria was walking towards them, returning from a quick trip to the bathroom.

"Guys, do you know where Carol is?" Maria asked when she reached Natasha and Hill. "She was just here."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Natasha replied, earning herself a side glare from Hill.

"I _would…_ " Maria said, confused at what she'd just walked into. "That's why I asked."

The quiet background music stopped, replaced by slow guitar strumms, and Carol's voice caused almost everyone in the bar to turn to the small stage.

_“I… I… had a really good bad idea/That I... I know, I know you're gonna wanna hear."_

Carol was looking down at first, then she looked up, and smiled at Maria from across the room.

_”There's a universe of stars swimming over/And our eyes are turning into black holes.”_

The smile was all the invitation Maria needed. "I'm just gonna..." She indicated the stage with her head, and left with Natasha and Hill staring after her.

 _”O-o-oh, can you feel it happening too?”_ Carol sang as Maria reached the stage and grabbed the second microphone.

 _”No-o-o, now there's nothing we can do.”_ Maria sang the last part, and they both went for the next one.

 _”Oh no, I should have regrets, but I don't./ Must've thrown away our halos;/ The devil on my shoulder wins!/ Ooo-ooo, oh no/ Ooo-ooo, oh no/ Ooo-ooo, oh no/ The devil on my shoulder wins!”_

They continued back and forth, with exaggerated motions to go with the song, and not once noticing how everyone in the room had gone quiet to watch them. 

Last of the notes faded out, and for a moment everyone stayed quiet. Then Natasha shouted from her place next to Hill. "Fuck you guys!"

"Language!" Steve said instantly.

"Piss off Rogers!" Natasha indicated her glass. "How the hell is anyone supposed to follow after that?"

Carol and Maria both had large smiles on their faces. They turned to each other, and as if they were still in the drift, knew what the other was thinking.

"Well then, I guess we'll just keep going." Carol said, and Maria walked over to the karaoke machine. Maria’s microphone was already up, and she started with the music.

_“We're running with the shadows of the night/ So baby take my hand, you'll be alright/ Surrender all your dreams to me tonight/ They'll come true in the end”_

Carol smiled at the song choice, and at the change in tone. Maria was next to her while the music played, and Carol took the next part.

_“You said, oh girl, it's a cold world/ When you keep it all to yourself”_

Carol continued with a stupid smile on her face, while her headache from before faded like a distant memory. Sure, the overly powerful drugs the doctor gave her did their job, but she was pretty sure the biggest reason was right this moment, singing on the stage with Maria next to her.

When the song was over they were both heavily breathing, and laughing. Maria looked up, and turned to Natasha.

“Come on Romanoff.” Maria had a large smile on her face. “Are you sure you don’t wanna join?”

Natasha thought for a moment, she knew the perfect song. “Only if I get to pick the song.”

“Sure.” Carol stepped back as Natasha walked towards them.

“This is _not_ going to end well.” Hill whispered into her drink. Her suspicions were confirmed when the music started, and sound of an electrical guitar filled the room.

Carol shared a surprised look with Maria, who just shrugged, and they started copying Natasha as she drummed the rhythm with her feet.

_“We've been here too long/ Tryin' to get along/ Pretendin' that you're oh so shy”_

Natasha wasn’t shy when it came to the moves. She walked with the ease of someone that knew they had the entire attention of the room but also couldn’t care less. 

_“I'm a natural ma'am/ Doin' all I can/ My temperature is runnin' high”_

She didn’t stay on the small platform for long, and started walking across the tables in the rec room. Carol and Maria joined in the song from the platform, but let Natasha take the lead.

_“Cry at night/ No one in sight/ An' we got so much to share”_

Hill didn’t like how close Natasha was getting to her. “Don’t even try, Romanoff.” She tried her most menacing look on Natasha.

_“Talking's fine/ If you got the time/ But I ain't got the time to spare/ Yeah”_

Natasha was right in front of her now, and the worst outcome she could possibly think happened. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Everyone in the room joined in for the chorus, too involved in themselves to see how red her face was, or how Natasha was almost laughing. 

Hill found herself smiling too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, a lot happened in this chapter but I hope you guys liked it. Music in the last scene comes from when I asked tumblr what their carolmaria karaoke choices would be. The songs I used are(in order of appearence); [Lion Oh No](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBeziL9QIXM)  
> , [Pat Benatar-Shadows of the Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHeZZ00ku7k) ,[Joan Jett-Do You Wanna Touch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXYbHESFBpg) . Other great suggestions were; Dorothy-Gun in my Hand, Pat Benatar-We Belong, Heart-Crazy on You, and the gay classic Belinda Carlisle-Heaven is a Place on Earth. I actually had a great time listening to each song while imagining them singing together, and would recommend doing the same.


	3. I Can Fix That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a chapter with just fluff until I attempt to bring it home in the last one.

Weeks merged into a blur after the Jaeger fight. 

Before, the Jaeger program was a secret, only known to the few people involved, and probably some crackpot conspiracy theorists. Civilians still knew a defense program was coming, but no government wanted to take the first step in acknowledging any specifics, or wanted to admit to being behind it if it went sideways and billions were spent on nothing.

Now, with Carol and Maria’s fight being plastered on every news outlet, they got lurched into a celebrity status overnight. Everyone wanted to know who they were, what they were doing, and the interview requests were ever growing. And with nothing to do but watch their trashed Jaeger being put back together, they had to accept.

“You look weird.” Maria commented when she walked into the dressing room.

“ _Weird_ , what weird?” Carol leaned closer to the mirror, inspecting her face.

Maria walked towards her and held Carol’s chin with one hand, looking over. “Okay, who did your makeup?”

“Don’t tell me it’s that bad.” Carol groaned while Maria pulled her hand back.

“Let’s say my daughter did a better job when she found my makeup set.” Carol couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I’m hardly keeping my eyes open from how the light reflects off of you.” Maria smiled.

“I know!” Carol exclaimed, waving her hands in frustration. “The guy wouldn’t stop!” 

They were both in their official air force uniforms, reserved for important occasions, completed with the hat pinned to their hair.

“Don’t worry, I‘m here to save you.” Maria turned to inspect the nearby makeup items, and returned with a small sponge. She crouched down to be on the same level as Carol, and went to work, not noticing how Carol averted her eyes.

“There...” Maria exhaled, causing Carol to gulp nodding. “All better...”

Carol finally turned to find Maria watching her with a smile, so unnecessarily close… _‘What if…’_

The door swung open with a production crew leaning his head in, causing them both to straighten up. “Two minutes until recording time!.”

-

Interviews went as good as to be expected. After the first time, where a reporter brought up Carol’s previous experience in the air force, causing Maria to curse him on air, Hill had put them on strict media training. But even with their slip ups, public loved them.

They were on a roll. 

However, strict media training and countless interviews, also drained them away from any human contact, so after a few weeks of hype, they were hiding away in their quarters.

“Danvers, what’re you up to?” Maria leaned her head in, opening Carol’s door after a knock.

“Nothing really.” Carol said. “Just teaching Goose how to play catch.” She threw the small ball of yarn to the other side of the room, but Goose just did whatever the cat equivalent of a disinterested shrug was, and went back to licking her paw.

“I see.” Maria nodded, glancing between Goose and Carol with an amused expression.

“It’s a work in progress.” Carol shrugged with mock seriousness. “What about you?”

Maria walked inside with an envelope in her hand, and closed the door with a foot. “I promised you that we’d talk.” She added, almost unsure of herself. “If you have time.”

“For you, _always._ ” Carol smiled and squeezed closer to Goose on the bed, making room for Maria right next to her. “What? You’re not the only one that can quote movies.”

“So...” Maria settled on the bed, leaning her back on the metal wall, her shoulder touching Carol’s. She opened the envelope, revealing a thick bundle of photos. “This is Monica.”

Carol reached for the first photo as Maria held it for her to take, and a large smile covered her face. A little girl with messy hair, eating a peach bigger than her hand with a smile, while its juice ran down her chin.

“She’s two in that one.” Maria smiled two. “And that’s my parents’ garden.”

“She’s so cute.” Carol said and Maria started showing her the pictures one by on.

“She is. But don’t fall for that.” Maria warned, passing a picture with her and Monica on a swing. “She can get you to do anything.”

“I’ll believe that.” Carol replied. “I mean, look at those eyes.”

“Yeah.”

“So...” Carol decided to ask the question that had been in her mind since seeing Maria’s memories. “She’s staying with your parents, right?”

“She does.” Maria replied as a picture of them with her parent’s popped up. “You already saw what happened.” She turned her face to Carol, who offered a comforting smile. “I was recruited, what, five months ago? My mom didn’t want me to accept. Dad just stayed quiet. Monica… Monica told me to go.” She gulped at remembering the memory. “She’s about to be five years old, but already a lot smarter than me.”

Carol swung her arm across Maria’s waist, pulling her in a side hug, while Maria happily accepted it and leaned her head on Carol’s shoulder.

“Do you regret it?” Carol asked after a moment. “Being here?”

“No.” Maria replied. “It gets hard sometimes, there’s not a moment I regret. What about you?”

“Me?” Carol leaned her head on Maria’s. “I’m right where I need to be.” 

-

"Captain Danvers." Fury looked up from the tablet in his hands, as the door opened. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sir, I've come here to ask something from you." Carol said, trying to look and sound as professional as possible. "Now, I know it's too much, but I hope you'll consider the Danger's win against a category two Kaiju before you make a decision."

"You sound like a robot, Danvers. Just spit it out."

"Okay." Carol took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask if you'll send Maria on shore leave." she said. "Just for a couple of days."

"Sure." Fury said, he didn't need to think about it for long, but Carol didn't hear him.

"She's been here for five months, and she has a daughter. They can't even talk on the phone properly, because the base doesn't allow outside communications." Carol kept going. “The Jaeger is in pieces, so it’s not like she’s any use to you here.”

Fury placed the tablet in his hands on the table in front of him, and raised his right hand up to stop Carol from rambling on. "Captain, I'm agreeing with you."

"And apparently it's her birthday next week..." Carol said before finally realizing Fury's words. "Wait, what?"

"I said I'm agreeing with you." Fury replied. "You guys did good, this whole operation might've been over before it even started, if it weren't for you." Fury wasn't one to give out empty praises, and Carol couldn't believe she was once on the receiving end. "You proved to the entire world that we can at last defend ourselves."

"I don't know what to say, Sir."

"Just accept the compliment." Fury replied. "And I believe in judging people based on their accomplishments, so I'll give you both seven days shore leave. We have three more operational teams, if anything out of the ordinary happens, they can handle it."

"Thank you, Sir." Carol was struggling to stop the smile creeping on her face.

-

“Stop eyeing my fries Romanoff, it’s not gonna happen.” Carol said grabbing her drink while Natasha instantly retrieved her hand.

“I’m just thinking about your health.” Natasha smiled. “Saving you from all those evil fatty acids.”

“Nice try.” Carol snorted, popping a fry into her mouth.

Maria walked into the mess hall, a new spring in her step as she couldn’t contain her excitement. She glanced over the tables, and found her copilot.

“Danvers!” Maria started running towards where Carol and Natasha were sitting. “Danvers, did you get the news?” She sidled up next to Carol.

“What news? That Romanoff is a terrible secret operative?” Carol lightly smacked Natasha’s hand away from an attempt to steal a fry.

“Fury’s giving us shore leave!” Maria said with a large smile.

“That’s great.” Carol smiled too, without indulging the fact that she already knew. 

“That’s amazing! I’m finally going back to Louisiana.” Maria said. “Even though it’s only for a week. What’re you going to do?” 

“You know, I have an apartment waiting for me back in New York.” Carol shrugged. “Probably overrun by cockroaches and my plants are all dead, but hey, I’m used to it.”

“God, that’s fucking horrible Danvers.” Natasha joined in.

“Yeah...” Maria’s mind started firing away. The thought of Carol returning to an empty apartment all alone… It wasn’t something she liked to see happen, not if she could help it. 

“Goose is actually a great hunter, so...” Carol turned her face to Maria, and stopped after seeing the way Maria looked at her. “What?”

“Come with me.” Maria said, toning down her excitement to sound serious. “I mean it. Come with me to Louisiana.”

“Pfff, come on.” Carol snorted. “Wait… You’re serious.” 

“Of course I am.”

“I can’t… You… Your parents...” Carol stuttered, trying to find the right words. “What I’m trying to say is… you haven’t seen your family in a long time. You should be with them, without worrying about me.”

“You’re not a golden retriever, Danvers. I trust you can take care of yourself.” Maria laughed, and reached for Carol’s hand on the table, grabbing it in a soft hold, causing  
Carol to stare at it. Neither noticed Natasha’s raised eyebrow. “I’m serious. I can’t let you return to an _infested_ apartment, while I have a large enough house for the both of us.”

“I… but...”

“No buts.” Maria said. “It’s settled. Tomorrow, you’re flying with me.” She gave Carol’s hand one last squeeze and turned to the table, popping one of Carol’s fries on the way.

“Oh, so she gets to just grab one and I don’t.” Natasha complained.

“Piss off Romanoff.”

-

Carol glanced at the helicopter lifting off once, then turned away. After a relatively short flight, thanks to special engines by Stark Industries, they were at Maria’s house. Her duffel bag was dangling from one shoulder, while Goose’s container was in her hand. She smiled at herself; everything she needed was with her, and packing her life was just that easy.

They started walking towards the house in the distance, Maria barely holding herself back from running. Main door of the house flung open, and a little girl stopped by the door once, then started running.

“Mommy!”

That was all Maria needed. She dropped her bag on the ground and started running too. Two elderly people appeared on the porch, and slowly started walking towards them.

Carol decided to stay back, to give them much needed time alone. Maria landed on her knees as her daughter jumped in for a hug, drowning her in kisses. Her parents reached them after a moment, and joined in on the hug.

After they parted, Monica still in Maria’s lap even though she was getting too old for it, Maria’s mother turned to find Carol walking towards them.

“Everyone, this is...” Maria started, only to be interrupted by her smiling mother.

“Oh yes, you must be Carol.” The woman pulled Carol in a hug, surprising her for a moment. “We saw you guys on TV.” she said after they parted. “God, you’re so skinny! Come on in, lunch is all ready.” She pulled Carol by her wrist, who turned to Maria questioningly, but Maria only offered an encouraging smile.

-

“Mrs. Rambeau, this is absolutely delicious.” Carol said after another spoonful. “Honestly, what’s your secret?”

“Honey, find me after a glass of pinot and I might tell you.” Ms.Rambeau said, causing everyone around the table to laugh. “Also, please, call me Lyonetta. Miss Rambeau makes me feel like an old woman.”

“Lyonetta, right.” Carol nodded. They were settled around the dinner table, with Maria on one end and Monica right next to her.

“Dad...” Maria turned to her father after the table quieted down. “I saw the roof from the chopper, what happened?” 

“Oh well, it rained a lot, two months ago. And this is an old house, things like that happens.” Maria’s father after placing his drink back on the table.

“Two months?” Maria asked. “Why didn’t you get it fixed all this time?”

“We called Mark, the slimy bastard.” Lyonetta joined in, then turned to Monica. “Sorry honey. But he keeps postponing, and your father is an old man. He can’t fix it alone.”

“Please, I’m not that old.”

“Get out of that chair without your hips clicking, then we’ll talk.” Lyonetta drew another round of laughter around the table.

“I actually have some experience in construction.” Carol said with a fork in her hand. “I’ll be happy to take a look.”

“You’re a guest here, honey.” Lyonetta reminded her. “We can’t ask you to do that.”

“Yeah Danvers.” Maria added watching her copilot curiously.

“And thank you for your hospitality, but I want to help.” Carol said then turned her head to Maria. “You know I’m serious.” 

Maria thought about it for a moment. “Okay, if you’re so determined, we’ll go to the hardware store tomorrow.”

“Oh, I wanna help too!” Monica joined in jumping in her seat.

“Sure.” Carol smiled at her. “You can be my assistant.”

“Yay!” Monica clapped her hands, then continued to not-so-discreetly feed Goose under the table.

-

“Oh, we should get that one too!” Monica pointed from inside the shopping cart as Maria rolled it, while Carol wandered next to them.

“We _definitely_ should.” Carol smiled and grabbed the hard hat Monica was pointing at.

“Right, safety first.” Maria joined in while Carol secured the hat on her daughter’s head. It was too big, but she looked so cute that Maria couldn’t argue.

“All good.” Carol nodded.

“Do we need anything else, Danvers?” Maria asked, leaning her hands on the shopping cart. After a wealth breakfast prepared by her mother, they were in the hardware store.

“I’m assuming you already have a toolkit?” 

“Of course, I’m not a savage.” Maria replied. “It’s in the garage.”

“Okay then, I think we’re all good.” Carol shrugged. She noticed how Maria’s cap was about to fall, and reached a hand to fix it. “All better.” She smiled, causing Maria to smile too.

“Let’s go to the checkout.”

“Mom, can we go to Chucky Cheese after this?” Monica turned to her mom.

“If that’s what you want, sure sweety.” Maria found it too hard to say no.

“Thank you!” Monica flashed a smile.

“What the hell is a Chucky Cheese?” Carol whispered after the started walking towards checkout.

“Oh, it will be amazing to watch you figure it out yourself.” Maria laughed.

-

Screaming children ran all around her, and Carol found herself frozen on the spot. Stepping through the door felt like stepping into a parallel universe. There seemed to be no rules, only flashing lights and sounds.

Laughing next to her finally caused her to turn her head, to find Maria barely holding herself. 

“I wish you could see your face right now.”

“What is this place?” Carol asked, almost shocked.

“Hell if I know.” Maria shrugged. “But kids love it, and frankly, I kinda do too.”

“I don’t… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.” Carol whispered, Monica was already gone and made a friend, while they were still standing near the entrance.

“What you do is, just have fun.” Maria grabbed Carol’s wrist and pulled her towards the skeeball machine.

“Oh I know this one.” Carol said after noticing the machine. “I used to play it all the time.”

“Play… I don’t play, Danvers.” Maria said with all the seriousness she could muster. “I win.”

“You just said that we’re here to have fun.” Carol was amused.

“And I will, when I beat your ass.”

“Ouch, those are fighting words.” Carol reached for her card and started the machine. “Just know, you started this.”

“And I intend to finish.” Maria winked, and started her machine too.

-

“Watch out.” Maria warned as she reached the garage door, and with a strong grip, she lifted it up.

Dust, collected over the months, caused Carol to cough, but she quickly recovered. “Wait, is that what I think it is?” she asked running for the sheet, pulling it off with her. “Oh my god!” she started circling the car, her hands ghosting over the frame. “This is a 1967 Camaro!”

“Sure is.” 

“This is amazing.”

“Didn’t know you were that into cars.”

“I’m offended you even said that.” Carol replied. “My Mustang might me in a storage facility, but I would’ve loved to prove you wrong for even saying than.”

“Please, get your car here when this Kaiju business is all over.” Maria laughed. “We’ll have ourselves a good ol fashioned street race.”

“Oh, you’re _so_ on.” Carol smiled. Did Maria just imply they would still be in each other’s life when this was all over? Even the possibility was enough for her.

-

It took Carol all of the afternoon to patch up the roof. She wasn’t professional by any means, but she did enough to make it last until the Rambeaus could get a proper contractor.

Monica helped, even surprising Carol with how quick she was to learn all the tools. She wasn’t allowed to go on the roof, but she still joined in through the window, not leaving Carol alone until she was completely finished.

Maria walked up the steps the the attic, with a tray of fresh iced teas, but stopped to listen to Carol and Monica talk.

“Why did you become a pilot?” Monica asked leaning her hands on the windowsill.

“I wanted to see how the world looked from up there.” Carol indicated to the sky. “Ever since I was your age.”

“I wanna be a pilot too.” Monica said. “Like you and mom.”

“Really?” Carol smiled. “Well, you’re already an amazing copilot.”

“But we’re not even flying.” Monica looked confused.

“I know, but being a pilot is more than just flying.” Carol explained. “You have to be a good team player. Work well with your copilots, know what they like, they don’t like. Anticipate their needs. Like what we’ve been doing all afternoon.”

“Hmm. You’re my mom’s copilot, right? Do you know those things about her?”

“Well… It’s a little different for us. The Jaeger’s we use work, because the two pilots… your mom and me, we share our thought with each other. Know everything the other is thinking at the moment.”

“That’s so cool.” Monica had a large smile, but after a moment it died down. “My mom has to go again, right?”

“Yeah...” Carol finished securing the last piece and settled next to the window on the roof. “How do you feel about that?”

“I know she’ll come back.” Monica shrugged. “She’s the best pilot there is.”

“You’re right about that.” Carol smiled.

“Who wants some cold ice tea?” Maria decided it was time, and started walking towards the window.

“Oh, you’re right on time, Rambeau.”

-

The next day, Maria decided to take them on a ride around the country in her old Camaro. She even let Carol drive it, because the excitement radiating from her was too pure not to. They spent most of the day driving, and joining in on the songs from the radio.

Carol was surprised at how at ease she felt. Even Monica didn’t need any time to adjust, she just accepted her as her mother’s friend and copilot. 

Maria’s parents were a refreshing change from her own. Maria’s father would talk with her about the Jaeger’s they were piloting and how the world was different from when he was in the army. And Maria’s mother, while not liking the all war talk, still put on a smile, while supplying them with continuous food and snacks.

After returning from the drive, Carol told them she wanted to go to town, alone, and Maria let her take the car. But not without a questioning glare. A spike of jealousy, curiosity mixed inside her, and she cursed herself for feeling that way.

Carol returned a couple hours later, with a large bag with her.

Maria pretended to be asleep.

-

Her worries turned out to be nothing when they were all gathered around the dinner table, all with a plate of Monica’s birthday cake. Carol excused herself for a moment, only to return with the ‘mysterious bag’ she had yesterday.

“Is that for me?!” Monica straightened in her seat with excitement.

“I mean, you’re the birthday girl, aren’t you?” Carol smiled. “Oh, was I wrong? Well, I’ll just take these back...” she joked, turning away with exaggerated movements.

“I am. It’s my birthday!”

“Then this is for you.” Carol put the bag on the table next to Monica.

“Danvers, you didn’t have to do that.” Maria watched them, surprised that Carol went out and bought something, just for her daughter. 

“I wanted too.” Carol smiled.

“You can open it now, honey. If you want.” Maria’s mom had a mixture of amusement and curiosity with her.

“Really?” Monica looked between her mom and Carol for confirmation, who both nodded.

”Sure.” 

Monica pulled out a large gift box that was neatly wrapped, and picked at the tapes slowly, building suspense for everyone. After carefully putting away the wrapper and the box’s lid; an entire pilot’s uniform in miniature size revealed itself, completed with goggles.

“Wow.” Monica excitedly touched the clothes.

“Do you like it?” Carol asked. She wasn’t exactly sure how her gift would be received but Monica surprised her by jumping in for a hug. She didn’t know how to react first, then she hugged back to.

“Like it? I love this!” Monica smiled when she pulled back. She quickly grabbed the box and ran towards the bathroom. “I’m gonna try it on.”

Maria watched her daughter go with a smile, then turned to Carol. “You know she’s gonna wear it for the rest of the weekend.” She said, while her parents discreetly went to the kitchen with a couple of plates, in guise of clean up.

“I’m just happy she liked it.” Carol shrugged.

“Seriously, why did you do it?”

“I… I wanted her to know, it’s okay. It’s okay to want to be a pilot.” Carol said. “I know you’ll support her no matter what. But… I just wanted her to hear it from someone else too.”

“That’s… Thank you, Danvers.” Maria reached for Carol’s hand. 

Something unspoken crossed between them, and it finally clicked for Maria. She realized what the memories everytime they drifted together were about. 

Carol never had someone support her as a woman in the air force. She didn’t either, but at least she had her family. Maria’s parents disagreed with her at times, but when she put her foot down, they supported her too.

The heavy moment dissipated when Monica ran towards the dining table, wearing the full pilot uniform. 

Day ended with the three of them on lying on the roof, staring at the stars.

-

Rest of the week went past quicker than Carol expected. She knew from a physics standpoint every day took the same exact time, but she was also a firm believer of ‘time passes by faster when you’re happy.’... And she couldn't remember being this happy in a long time.

When the day finally came, Fury sent another helicopter to pick them up and they said their goodbys. Carol surprised even herself by how attached she became to these people in just one week, but she managed to hold onto her emotions until her and Maria were secured in their seats.

Carol reached for Maria’s hand when they lift off from the ground, and they stayed like that as a quiet comfort for each other.

They reached the base, as fast as the first time, and immediately knew something was going on. Everyone was a lot busier than they normally were, but there had been no Kaiju attacks. They dropped their bags, and without settling in went to find one of the pilots to see what the fuss was about.

“Danvers, Rambeau.” Natasha greeted them with a nod when they entered the mess hall. “I see you guys made it back okay.” she said while Carol and Maria settled on the row in front of her. “Kinda thought you‘d be sunbathing in the Caribbean’s by now.” 

“Nice to see you too.” Maria smiled at her.

“Yeah.” Carol joined in. “Did something happen while we were gone? Everyone looks so tense.”

“Oh, you guys just missed it.” Natasha said around a mouthful of pasta. “Our dear Major finally lost it.”

“Fury?” Maria questioned.

“The one and only.” Natasha replied. “He finally lost his mind after all this time. Kinda surprised it was the Kaiju that did it.”

“Stop beating around the bush, Romanoff. What happened?”

“First off, no one uses that term anymore, Danvers.” Natasha put her fork down. “And Stark will explain it tomorrow but...” Maria and Carol leaned in closer. “Next time the breach opens, we’re dropping a hundred megaton thermonuclear bomb right into it.”

Maria didn’t know how to respond to that. She turned her head to Carol, who had the same confused expression as her.

_’Somehow, I don’t think this is going to end well.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer pulls from her own experience going to Chucky Cheese for the first time in her life with two 5 year olds.


End file.
